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Governors State University Data & Information Overview

38 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
48% Acceptance Rate

If you want to know more about Governors State University, such as what majors does it offer, how diverse it is, how well it ranks, and more, this is your one-stop resource.

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* Rankings

How Well Is Governors State University Ranked?

#1,155 Best Colleges in Nation
#59 Best Colleges in IL
Governors State University ranking badge

2026 Best Colleges Rankings

College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.

Governors State University was awarded 38 badges in the 2026 rankings.

National Standing

College Factual ranked GSU as #1,155 out of 3,449 colleges and universities in the country on its 2026 Best Colleges list.

GSU also holds the #59 spot on the Best Colleges in Illinois ranking.

See all of the rankings for Governors State University.

How Difficult Is Admission to Governors State University?

48% Acceptance Rate
53% Of Accepted Are Women

Acceptance Rate

Governors State University has an acceptance rate of 48%, which means the school is serious about who it admits. Take your time in putting together a strong application that highlights why you are a good fit for GSU.

Learn more about Governors State University admissions.

Faculty at Governors State University

11 to 1 Student to Faculty
28% Full Time Teachers

Student to Faculty Ratio

The student to faculty ratio at GSU is an impressive 11 to 1. That’s quite good when you compare it to the national average of 15 to 1. This is a good sign that students at the school will have more opportunities for one-on-one interactions with their professors.

Full-Time Faculty Share

When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.

The full-time faculty percentage at Governors State University is 28%. This is lower than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  28 out of 100
0
100

Retention and Graduation Rates at Governors State University

59% Freshmen Retention
20% On-Time Graduation Rate

First-Year Student Retention

The freshmen retention rate is a sign of how many full-time students like a college or university well enough to come back for their sophomore year. At Governors State University this rate is 59%, which is a bit lower than the national average of 68%.

Freshmen Retention Rate  59 out of 100
0
100

Graduation Rate

When we say that a student has graduated on time, we mean that they have finished their bachelor’s degree within four years. The on-time graduation rate at GSU is 20%. That’s lower than the national rate of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  20 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Governors State University.

Student Demographics at Governors State University

2,518 Undergraduate Students
66.7% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
62.2% Percent Women

During the most recent academic year, there were 2,518 undergraduates at GSU.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at Governors State University.

What Does Governors State University Cost?

$16,772 Net Price
38% Take Out Loans
$28,164 Total Student Loans

The average net price of GSU is $16,772. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.### Net Price by Income Group for GSU

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$8,982 $8,419 $11,856 $10,513 $18,292

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of GSU, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Loan Debt

Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At GSU, approximately 38% of students took out student loans averaging $7,041 a year. That adds up to $28,164 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 6.2%. Although this is lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, you’ll still want to keep this in mind when taking out student loans. Get more details about paying for Governors State University.

What Do Governors State University Alumni Earn?

$58,169 Avg Salary of Grads
High Earnings Boost

The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Governors State University make about $58,169 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is good news for future Governors State University graduates since it is 18% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.

See which majors at Governors State University make the most money.

Location of Governors State University

Illinois State
2,518 Undergraduate Students
Suburb Campus Setting

Governors State University is a public institution located in University Park, Illinois. University Park is a good match for students who enjoy the safety and convenience of the suburbs. Get more details about the location of Governors State University.

Location of Governors State University

Contact details for Governors State University can be found below.

Contact Details
Address: 1 University Pky, University Park, IL 60484
Phone: 7085345000
Website: www.govst.edu/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/govstate
Twitter: twitter.com/Governors_State

Governors State University Majors

17 Majors With Completions
2,430 Undergraduate Degrees

In the latest year of available data, students from 17 majors graduated from Governors State University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.

Most Popular Majors Completions Average Salary of Graduates
Multi-Disciplinary Studies 1,215 NA
Computer Science 187 $39,670
Business Administration & Management 106 $44,204
General Psychology 82 $30,090
Liberal Arts General Studies 79 $32,787
Rehabilitation Professions 56 $67,463
Medical Illustration & Informatics 55 NA
Social Work 54 $38,012
Management Sciences & Methods 51 NA
Criminal Justice & Corrections 48 $37,493

Learn more about the majors offered at Governors State University along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Distance Learning at GSU

92% Take At Least One Class Online
46% Take All Classes Online

Online learning options are becoming more and more popular at American colleges and universities. Online classes are great for students who have busy schedules or for those who just want to study on their own time.

2,315 students took at least one online class at Governors State University.

Learn more about online learning at Governors State University.

Similar InstitutionsCurious how schools stack up against GSU? Pit them head to head with College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.

Notes and References

Footnotes

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

References

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